Donald Trump said he will take executive action to pay 50,000 airport security workers as a deal stalled in Congress to address staff shortages – key US politics stories from 26 March 2026Donald Trump announced on Thursday he will sign an order instructing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pay Transportation Security Administration agents immediately. “I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” Trump wrote on social media. “I want to thank our hardworking TSA Agents and also, ICE, for the incredible help they have given us at the Airports.” The US president did not state where the funding to pay the agents would come from. TSA agents have gone without pay for more than a month due to a partial shutdown of the DHS, leading to nationwide staffing shortages and long lines at airports across the US that have severely affected travelers. Passengers have reported missing flights as they have waited for hours in queues in what the acting TSA head has described as the “highest wait times in TSA history”. Amid mounting frustrations over delays, the Trump administration this week deployed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports in what Trump said was an effort to assist the TSA. Almost 500 TSA officers have quit since last month, when Congress did not pass a bill to fund the US Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year. Democrats have demanded that ICE face accountability for violence during its operations, including the killings of US citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, in Minneapolis, and said they would not fund the DHS without reforms. The impasse has had a devastating impact on TSA employees, who by Friday were expected to have missed $1bn in paychecks, the agency’s acting head, Ha Nguyen McNeill, told Congress this week.“Many in our workforce have missed bill payments, received eviction notices, had their cars repossessed and utilities shut off, lost their childcare, defaulted on loans, damaged their credit line, and drained their retirement savings,” she said. “Some are sleeping in their cars, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second jobs to make ends meet.” While Republicans and Democrats have been in negotiations to reach an agreement to end the shutdown, Trump has suggested he would refuse to sign any legislation unless Democrats support the Save America Act. The proposed bill would make changes to voter registration rules that advocates say would make it harder to vote, including requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship upon registering and to show identification at the polls. The announcement from Trump came as the Senate failed to pass funding for the seventh time on Thursday evening. The Senate majority leader, John Thune, told reporters the development would take “the immediate pressure off but it’s a short-term solution”. Other Republicans praised the news, with Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming saying that Trump is “doing absolutely the right thing”, while Lindsey Graham said: “You’re saving the country a lot of heartache and danger.” An incredible self-own In 1936, John Scott, son of the late Guardian owner and legendary editor CP Scott, did something unheard of for a media heir: he gave up his stake for the greater good. After inheriting the newspaper, Scott renounced all financial benefit – bar his salary – in the Guardian (worth £1m at the time and around £62m today) and passed ownership over to the newly formed Scott Trust. The Trust would evolve to have one key mission: to secure the financial and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity. That means the Guardian can’t be bought. Not by private equity, not by a conglomerate, and definitely not by a billionaire looking for a political mouthpiece. So here are three good reasons to make the choice to support us today. 1. Our quality, investigative journalism is a scrutinising force at a time when the rich and powerful are getting away with more and more. 2. We are independent and have no billionaire owner controlling what we do, so your money directly powers our reporting. 3. It doesn’t cost much, and takes less time than it took to read this message. This unique model also means we depend on readers like you from Ghana to help fund our work. Our independence means we can say what we want, report on who we want, challenge who we want, and stand up at a time when others are sitting down. If you would rather the news you read was the result of decisions made by journalists and editors, not shareholders or ultra-wealthy tech bros, then, well, you know what to do: Support the Guardian on a monthly basis.